Amazon will be releasing a new Fire TV model which falls in between their current 2nd generation Fire TV Stick and 2nd generation Fire TV. This information is based on a benchmark I’ve discovered and other information I’ve acquired. The new model will support 4K UHD playback at 60 fps and high dynamic range (HDR) video, which is superior to all existing Fire TV models, although I expect the new model to be sold alongside both existing Fire TV models. This will be Amazon’s first HDR capable streaming device and is meant to be an entry-level model for 4K HDR streaming, to compete with the Chromecast Ultra. The new device will run a version of Fire OS that is based on Google’s latest Android 7 Nougat operating system, which is a significant upgrade from their current Fire TV lineup that runs Fire OS 5 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The new Fire TV carries a build model value of “AFTN” which indicates its codename starts with an N. This could be a reference to Android 7 Nougat, since this will be the first Fire TV to ship with the new OS version, but it likely doesn’t exactly share a codename with Google’s latest version of Android.

The system-on-a-chip (SoC) in the new Fire TV model is probably from Amlogic’s S905 line of chips, which are the same chips used in the Xiaomi Mi Box streaming device. The CPU is a quad-core capable of running at 2 GHz, but is limited to 1.5 GHz, either by Amazon for heat reasons or by the SoC kernel. The GPU is a Mali-450 MP, which is the same one in the latest Fire TV Stick.

Gaming benchmark scores for the new Fire TV model fall in between the current 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick and the original 1st-gen Fire TV. While the new model scores about 28% better than the Fire TV Stick, thanks mostly to its more powerful CPU, it is clearly not meant to be a gaming device or a replacement for the 2nd-gen Fire TV set-top box.

System memory for the new Fire TV model is reported as 1.5 GB by the benchmark utility, but there’s a good chance it actually has 2 GB of total memory. Depending on the SoC, some devices don’t report the memory allocated to the GPU when queried. The 2nd-gen Fire TV is such a device. It has 2 GB of RAM, but only reports 1.5 GB when queried by the same benchmark utility because 512 MB is allocated to the GPU. Internal storage of the new Fire TV model likely comes in at 8GB, which matches all other Fire TV models, past and present.

Based on the new Fire TV model’s specs and capabilities, I strongly suspect it will have a dongle form factor with a built in HDMI plug. Like the Fire TV Stick, this new model will plug directly into the back of a TV, instead of being a set-top box. That would place it most directly in competition with Google’s 4K and HDR capable Chromecast Ultra.

Pricing and a release date for the new Fire TV model are unknown. Based on Amazon’s history of aggressively pricing hardware with the expectation of making most of their profit on content sales, and the pricing of its closest competitors, the Chromecast Ultra and the Mi Box, which both retail for $69, I expect the new Fire TV model to be priced at $59 or less.

Apart from the first Fire TV, which was released in April, Amazon has released all subsequent Fire TV models around October, so I expect the new Fire TV model to be released around that time later this year. I don’t expect the new model to replace either of the existing Fire TV models. The 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick still has a place as the budget friendly entry-level device for those who don’t yet own a 4K TV, and the 2nd-gen Fire TV set-top box will continue to have superior gaming capabilities and port selection until it is replaced by a new flagship model.

While the new 4K@60fps and HDR capable Fire TV model has superior video playback capabilities than the existing 2nd-gen Fire TV, which does 4K@30fps and does not support HDR, it is sure to disappoint those who have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of a 3rd-gen Fire TV set-top box. Amazon’s Fire TV Stick outsells the Fire TV set-top box, so its understandable the company would first focus on a new product that appeals to Fire TV Stick buyers, before updating their flagship set-top box. Those wanting the improved video capabilities of the new Fire TV model without sacrificing the gaming capabilities and port selection of the 2nd-gen Fire TV are going to have to hold out a little bit longer.

69 comments

Interesting. If I recall, most people find that the s905 just barely does 4k. Most people find it is better suited for 1080p. I don’t really understand the logic of this device, if it is not a replacement of the FTV box. Do we really need a sku between the stick/box?

I too am a bit concerned about the choice of SoC since the Mi Box struggles with some 4K playback. There are several variants of the s905, and I don’t know which will be in this device, so that could make a difference. Also, this new model scores very well on the Driver Overhead benchmark, so that gives me hope that Amazon’s drivers and software will be able to get smooth 4K playback out of the s905, where the Mi Box engineers could not.

I imagine this model (or at least a model with these specs) will eventually replace the Fire TV Stick. It’s just too early for that since most people don’t own 4K TVs yet. The purpose of this device, as I see it, is to stream 4K and HDR for as cheap as possible. If it’s priced at $59 or less, like I predict, it will achieve that.

Yeah, you are probably right, this is likely a stick replacement. By the time it releases, the s905 will be old, and probably very inexpensive. Amlog already came out with their replacement to the s905 several months ago.

Also, regarding the 1.5ghz speed, I think that is standard for the 905. People have always complained the 2ghz spec for the SOC is a lie, as thermals and other issues mostly cap it at 1.5ghz.

Well, the s912 besides being more powerful, supposedly has a ton of issues. On the Kodi forums they are always telling people to buy the older 905 instead of the s912. Also, I believe the power is only noticable for gaming(dif gpu), but it is the same as the 905 for streaming. The 912 is octo core, but from what I’ve read it does make a difference in streaming.

There are several varients of the s905, but I believe the main difference is which versions of android they are certified with, and things like dolby licenses, etc.. At their core, they are operate at the same speed, have the same mali GPU, etc… If Amazon is using the 905, I suspect it will be the 905h that is in the Mi Box.

“It’s just too early for that since most people don’t own 4K TVs yet.”

I find this hard to believe – 4K tvs are like 300 bucks now. Maybe a couple years ago yes, but most LED tvs are 4k now. This is Apple’s crutch for not releasing a 4k AppleTV – sorry I just dont believe it. Go ahead and ask around the office, I’d say 75% have a 4k tv. Thats my findings around here .

I still have a 720p that looks and works great I don’t actually know anyone who has 4K and I’m not buying a 4K at any price for the same reason I believe a lot of people don’t we simply can’t get fast enough internet

I have a 60 inch one year old Samsung 4k/3D tv, and a 50 inch LG LED 4K TV and they are beautiful compared to any other tv thats out…..4K is the new wave….almost every single time i go into a best buy there are at least 3-4 people buying or looking at 4K…its here…not going anywhere until 8K comes in about 3 years.

4K TV’s are not only a small market but content for them is even smaller. Not as bad as 3D TV’s but I doubt they matter much. Streaming has grown by leaps and bounds. The 4K streaming world is tiny. Until there is far more accessible content 4K will continue to mainly be a marketing ploy.

I really don’t see how they can market the Fire TV 2 as the high end product and charge more for it when did doesn’t have HDR. It may have better GPU capabilities, but no one is buying these things to play games.

Hardware aside, I am particularly interested to see what Amazon is going to put out with Android 7 under the hood of this new device.

While this may not seem significant to people who primarily look no further than the basic home screen/settings, Nougat opens up (and potentially closes) new avenues on the app/rooting end of things. I would like to see how apps such as Kodi play with Nougat on an Amazon device, as some users pointed out issues with Kodi 17 on the current firmware based on Android Lollipop 5.1.

All this to say, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for this device when it is released.

Two sticks is just begging for consumer confusion and having this new thing be a box to take on the Mi Box makes the most sense. The Fire TV Stick can already play most of the games released on the platform so not having a super powerful cpu/gpu wouldn’t be that big of a loss if they can get the cost down enough.

If they take $10 off the current Fire TV Stick and launch this thing at $50-60, it’d be a direct kick in the teeth to the competition.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a stick to not be a box. It could be Chromecast-like with a short HDMI cable permanently attached. That would differentiate it enough from the Fire TV Stick to alleviate any confusion. I just don’t think this thing will sit on a shelf and require a detachable HDMI cable. But again, that’s all just my guess, so we’ll have to wait and see.

This could be interesting to buy only if it has a (small) Box form-factor, with (at least) 1-USB Port and hoppefully 1-Audio Out Port (3,5mm Audio\Spdif Port) and a price of 49-59$.
Otherway i dont see why not to make me to still buy FTV-Stick, cheaper and not so much slower..

How am I expected to believe something with a benchmark score lower than my First Gen Fire TV can handle 4k? And what use is it to me to have Nougat, if none of the Nougat things will even bee accessible to me? My Fire TV already struggles with high bitrate 1080p.

PS: Why don’t they just make a new model based on the Specs in the TV?

The benchmark scores mostly tax the GPU, which has nothing to do with video playback. All Fire TV models have dedicated hardware to handle video decoding and playback that leaves the CPU doing practically nothing while playing video. I demonstrated this in a video I made here.

If you mean add HDR and 60fps to the existing Fire TV 2 hardware, that’s not possible via software alone.

Just because this new device is in the pipeline, it doesn’t mean a new Fire TV 3 isn’t also in the works. This new model just happens to be what I found. I expect a device with 4K@60fps, HDR, Android N, and specs that surpass the Fire TV 2 is a certainty.

The GPU has nothing to do with HDR. That’s dependent on the hardware decoder. Regardless, the HDMI port in the Fire TV 2 is a v1.4 port, which cannot do 4K@60fps or HDR. For that you need HDMI v2.0a and above.

I have to think Amazon will either roll out a new top-end Fire TV box (that is also based on Android 7 and can do UHD HDR @ 60fps) alongside this new mid-range model OR perhaps this new mystery device actually is the new Fire TV box. (Either way, the box is due for a refresh this year.) Maybe Amazon’s research shows that buyers don’t care a whole lot about gaming capability and that they would sell more of the box if it was less expensive but offered better UHD video streaming. Part of me thinks it needlessly complicates the product line-up to introduce a third mid-range option but then Roku seems to be doing pretty well with umpteen different models. If this new device is indeed a mid-range addition, I think the updated high-end box would need more than just ethernet and a faster processor to justify itself. Maybe it will also offer AC wifi and possibly new features like an OTA TV tuner with cloud DVR.

I really hope there is a new top-end box this year, because then the lineup makes more sense. This new model is a bit odd only as long as the Fire TV 2 isn’t updated because each model would have its own different advantages, which is not how you want a product lineup to be. As you move up the line, features should just be added and not removed. So I agree, there has to be a new top-end box in the works.

Amazon is not one that’s afraid of adding models to their lineups. Kindles and Fire Tablets started with a single model and have expanded the line to appeal to different people. The same is happening with Fire TV, first with the Stick and now with this “N” device, and Echo, with the addition of the Dot, the Tap, and a rumored high end model with a screen. That’s why I don’t think this new Fire TV “N” will replace the Fire TV 2.

I do believe the Stick is doing better than the box, but there’s room for both. Some people need 4K, while others don’t. Some people need gaming capabilities, while others don’t. With the current lineup, Amazon is clumping together those who need 4K with those who want gaming. I’m sure there are plenty of people who want 4K but don’t care about gaming. That’s the gap that this new model fills and I think it makes complete sense.

If it has Android 7 then I hope that you can use expandable storage as real expandable like with the Nvidia shield. I liked this about the shield but I had to send it back because it kept crashing and it was more sluggish then even the stick.

If this new “N” model is a dongle, I doubt it will have expandable storage. I assume at least 2nd-gen devices will get upgraded to Android 7 shortly after the new model(s) come out, like we saw with Fire OS 5, and hopefully the storage swap feature is added to the Fire TV 2.

The big thing is that there’s always something that differentiates the models of Amazon’s hardware from each other.

Tablet line = 7 inch entry, 8 inch with great battery life midlevel, 10 inch big screen, even the Kids line is shown with the goofy case

Echo line = Dot entry, Tap midlevel, Echo premium

Kindle line = Kindle with no built in light entry, Paperwhite with a built in light midlevel, Voyage with a different body as the premium and Oasis as the super deluxe premium model

They’re all easily distinguishable to the average consumer.

Like you floated the idea of this new device being a Chromecast Ultra style device but I’m not seeing it. It makes much more sense for this new thing to replace the current Fire TV 2.

Hitting the $60 price point seems like it’d be more important than more power or legacy options like Ethernet/Optical.

There’s also the new line of Fire TV Smart TVs coming soon. That could be marketed as the ‘premium’ experience compared to the entry level stick or the new midlevel box.

(also also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon has given up on their casual gaming ambitions outside of what they’ve already built up. most of the current games run on a stick, the flow of new games has basically stopped and there’s no real demand for the gamer edition.

it seems like their gaze has turned towards pc gaming and trying to wrestle some market share away from Steam)

All that said, I hope they eventually launch a real successor to the Fire TV 2.

I agree that “hitting the $60 price point seems like it’d be more important than more power or legacy options like Ethernet/Optical,” but why not have both? I see little reason to abandon a segment of the market that they’ve spent 3 years capturing. It just doesn’t make sense. Sure it seems like they’re not emphasising gaming as much as they used to, but Razer and NVIDIA still are and the Fire TV will benefit from that at no cost to Amazon.

I’m confident there will be a successor to the Fire TV 2, and this new model is not it.

Its fit is being the cheapest way to stream 4K and HDR content. I think that’s a pretty nice part of the market to hold. They’d never achieve that with the Fire TV set-top box because they need to have a model with higher-end gaming capabilities and ports.

With the FTV2 not capable for 4k@60FPS or HDR, it creates this weird market as usually you’d expect the top model to be ‘fully featured’ and I’d expect an FTV3 to be in the works, unless this is the FTV3 and they’re reducing it’s gaming credentials.

I’d also be curious on price because anything between the two might cause issues from a casual consumer perspective.

What do you think the chance is that we see an update to Android 7 for the fire TV 2? It sure would be nice to be able to move games from internal memory to SD cards. That’s the major problem for the fire TV for me, they market it as a gaming machine but it doesn’t have enough doesn’t space to hold any games!

I’d say there’s a good chance the 2nd-gen devices will be updated to Android 7. Hopefully the 1st-gen devices will also, but they might not. The Fire TV 2 was the first Fire OS 5 device and shortly after it launched, the Fire TV 1 and Fire TV Stick 1 got updated to Fire OS 5.

This all sounds like the “Roku” business model, flood the market with a bunch of similar devices just a few specs (and $$$) apart, doesn’t make sense in the long run. And would it kill them to throw a little extra memory in? Memory is dirt cheap, what engineer decided 6 or 8 gb was enough, at least 16/32 on board now a days! Thats contract manufacturing for you…one question will gen 1/2 boxes get and be able to run the new os or is it EOL for gen 1? The gen 1 hasn’t received the latest update yet as it is…

I wouldn’t call 3 models a flood. It makes sense for there to be a budget friendly 1080p device (i.e., Fire TV Stick) and a budget friendly 4K device (i.e., this new model). I’m sure some customers will like not having to buy the box of all they want to do is stream 4K video.

Some of Roku’s models literally differ by a single port and nothing else. That’s just dumb and I’m all with you in calling it a flood if Amazon ever does something like that.

No way to know yet which 1st or 2nd gen devices will get Android 7. I expect 2nd-gen devices will definitely be updated. Not sure about 1st-gen. I suspect part of the delay for the new UI on 1st-gen devices is optimizing the weak Fire TV Stick 1 to run well with the new media rich launcher. It would suck if the Fire TV Stick 1 got updated to Android 7 to appease customers but ran worse with it. You see that way too often with smartphones.

An Alternative theory. It is entirely possible that the build cost of the ftv2/uhd and fluctuations in the $ £ and Euro mean the margins aren’t there.

A cheaper FTV at the top end makes sense, with a discontinuation of the FTV2 outside the US or even globally. In short its next stage commodity Fire TV and who cares what cheap tat is inside, certainly not 99% of owners, if you told them its UHD most if not all that 99% wouldn’t have a clue if it was UHD or plain old HD. And do think vendors in regions outside the US do play this technobabble wishy washy game with customers. SuperFast Big 4K HD playback that’s BIG!!! type babble.

I do think you’re onto something, but I think it’s a better explanation for why Amazon appears to be working on this new model first, and not an explanation for why this model might replace the Fire TV 2.

I’d have to agree some variation of this theory probably makes the most sense.

I don’t believe they’ll discontinue the Fire TV 2 for this device. Plenty of people will be asking why the newest device has poorer gaming performance than the original Fire TV.

Personally I didn’t want to spend £80 on an outdated/locked down Fire TV2 when I could grab a generic Amlogic S905 box for £30.

Got a cheap Beelink MiniMX3, 2GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet.
Booting off an SD card into LibreELEC Jarvis and it’s close to perfect.

I knew there’d be no vendor support from Beelink.
Had to sacrifice a few things like the UK catch-up apps but there’s a KODI addons for the iPlayer & ITV.
The WiFi isn’t great but it’s passable – 15Mbps max – in the ideal world I’d wire it in but don’t really want to bother with Powerline adapters.

Sacrifice the gaming performance to cut costs; the old Mali-450 is hopeless (~Galaxy S2 era)

Price it around £50 say? Fire TV Lite?

Could have a winner. Had this been available I’d probably have opted for it over the generic stuff.

I believe new versions of KODI plan on adding voice search functionality. Now whether they could make the FireTV remote do this is something I’m unsure of.

Gaming on Android is a niche hobby as far as I’m concerned, especially against the likes of PC gaming, Moonlight/STEAM streaming and the main consoles. The majority of Android games were released years ago on other platforms.

I’m sure we’ll see a Fire TV 3 at some point it’s due an update. Maybe they’ll stick a Tegra chip inside it – who knows.

The next big thing for me would the ability to emulate Wii(U) generation hardware i.e. Dolphin & CEMU on a small form factor box.

I have a no name s912 and it beats all of my fire sticks 1 & 2 Gen and my fire tvs 1 & 2 gen by far , it is faster cpu wise then the shield but the gpu king is the shield .. I paid $82 on ebay for my H96 Pro Plus and had it in 2 days it is by far the fastest for the price the shield is still king but for the price the s912 is what i would buy Unless you are willing to spend $199 on a shield I would get the no name s912 .. The no name s912 I have is th H96 Pro Plus 8 Cores , GPU ARM Mali-T820MP3 , 3 Gbs of DDR3 ram , Rom is 32 Gbs , 1 Micro SD card slot (Up to 256 Gbs has for as I have tried), 2 open and 2 hidden usb slots , 64 Bit Cpu But runs a 32 Bit O/S , 1 Gbps Ethernet , Up to 4K @ 10 Bits @ 60 Fps , Wifi 2.4G / 5G (A,B,G,N,AC) , BlueTooth 4.1 , O/S Android 6.0 ..

LOL. I certainly hope so for that second part. I highly doubt it for the first part. The Fire TV Stick will have a place in the lineup for a while longer. At the very least until Amazon can make a device like this new one for $39.99. But even then, a 1080p Fire TV Stick for $29.99 or less still has a market because 4K TV penetration isn’t expected to reach 50% for 3 more years.

I just purchased a cheap Hisense 4k hdr which lacks built in apps with HDR support, so I can see this device being useful for people with lower end 4k hdr tvs like this needing HDR in Amazon app. But the Xbox one s and Sony pro already have 4k + HDR support in the apps eg. Netflix and Amazon and most people with 4k Her TVs have one of those. But I can see this device being useful as a low budget device.

I got a nvidia shield tv recently and have been wondering where amazon will go from here with devices supporting 4k at 60fps and hdr. I think they probably won’t be focusing on gaming in the future as they had a big push at the start with trying to have exclusive and in house games then there hasn’t been much in a while.

Playing amazon content on a fire tv is still much better than any other device. They will probably focus on affordable media capabilities.

I’m so hoping you are right with the amlogic chip as it delivers outstanding video processing capabilities like for example greate deinterlacing of 1080i h264 video stream, which is very important for Live TV broadcasts.
So my hope is they will deliver that new box with the Live TV part from the TVs which can maybe be used with an network tuner.
At least that the only thing I can think of why using an amlogic 905 series SOC.

This mid-ranger seems kind of pointless, unless they discontinue the firestick. B/c if they ever come out with a new stick, it’ll probably have close to/equal the same performance as this mid-range device. The mid-range doesn’t look to be much of an improvement spec-wise over the current stick…

I’ll throw this one into the mix : This new stick/box/thing becomes the de facto purchase for Amazon Prime /streaming users at a price point between the Stick 2 and the Fire TV 2. The FTV 2 is then only available as a bundle with the controller as the gaming option. The Fire TV 3 appears around the second quarter of 2018

Personally, I am hoping that this new device is an updated Fire TV stick (making it a Gen 3) and that the Gen 3 Fire TV box will be forthcoming. However, it is really hard to pinpoint exactly what this device will be and/or what is Amazon’s strategy regarding Fire TV going forward. Google has a low end and high end device (Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra). Roku has a plethora of devices, but essentially has a low, middle, and high end. Even Shield has a low end and high end model for its Shield TV. I really don’t want a “mid-tier” or middle slot item. I think Amazon’s strategy of low and high end has worked just fine thus far. However, considering that Amazon is just 7% points off from taking over the top TV streaming market share, they may just try and do a “mid-tier”/Goldilocks streaming device to try and capture more market share. Just my two cents, but at this point it is still a little too early to determine just what this device is and what is its function in the grand scheme of the Fire TV vision. Please keep up the good work and keep us posted.

Will the gen 3 be out real soon (date.?) I have only a week ago got a gen 2 ,I asked Amazon .they would not tell me anything about a new model. Except I had 30 days to return no reason would have to be given. So what should I do, also what good will a new os 7, do, new features ,can you tell me what it would add to the fire tv. Also will the gen 2 I have now get the upgrade to os 7 ? Also will it be worth it for the new box gen 5? Price wise I have a limited income.
Help please I need as much info as possible on os 7 and the fire tv gen 3!!!!!!!!
Please help
James Stephens